Ancient Maya city of Copan entices visitors to the jungles of Honduras

You can read the hieroglyphic staircase that predicted the end of the world in 2012 by visiting Copan, an ancient Maya city being slowly reclaimed from the jungle in Honduras.

Photograph by: Pat Brennan
, For Postmedia News

You shouldn't be too sure that mankind dodged a bullet in December 2012 when the world didn’t come to an abrupt end, as predicted by an ancient Maya calendar.

It could be that the predicted doomsday date of Dec. 21, 2012 is actually Dec. 21, 2021.

It all depends on how accurately archeologists are re-assembling the Mayan calendar on which the prophecy is based.

The calendar is actually a huge story book assembled as a wide staircase leading to the top of a Maya temple in Honduras. Each large stone in the 72-step hieroglyphic staircase is carved with symbols that tell the story of the Maya. n people.

But the relentless jungle, always creeping forward over the eons with its relentless roots and clawing tree limbs, has scattered those stones hither and yon. Archeologists, anthropologists and epigraphists have been putting the stones back in place like a massive jig-saw puzzle so they can read the Mayan history book. But, they admit, they may have the stones in the wrong order.

You can read the hieroglyphic staircase yourself by visiting Copan, an ancient Maya city being slowly reclaimed from the jungle in Honduras.

For 2,000 years Copan was the capital city and spiritual hub for the Maya people. But, following a disastrous defeat in battle with the rival community of Quiriguai in neighbouring Guatemala in the year 738, Copan slowly lost its cultural and spiritual dominance among the Maya. Its 20,000 population had dwindled to a few hundred souls in scattered villages within 20 years.

Eventually the tireless jungle swallowed the great capital and it was lost for centuries under carpet of foliage.

During its 2,000-year-reign as the Maya's Big Apple, residents erected hundreds of temples, pyramids, alters, even stadiums and on each structure the builders chiseled glyphs to tell the story of Copan.

Although the jungle eventually grew over these monuments, archeologists have been steadily hacking it out of the overgrowth. Today, about 10 per cent of the city has been uncovered and it is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Maya worshiped the beautiful scarlet macaws found in the jungle and their image was carved into practically every structure they built.

Magnificent examples of the bird can be found throughout the ruins, but they like to gather by the entrance gate where somebody cleverly installed feeding trays. It offers wonderful photo opportunities.

The Maya guides who conduct English-language tours of Copan have a macaw feather stuck on the top of their walking sticks.

You're wise to use a walking stick yourself when touring the ruins. Your knees will thank you for it.

Your Maya guide will introduce you to some of the agricultural and scientific achievements of the early Maya culture. They created one of the world's first written languages, grew crops on uncooperative lands and had a complex understanding of astronomy. They knew how to predict solar eclipses and used astrological cycles to aid in planting and harvesting. They developed two calendars that are as precise as those we use today.

The modern town of Copan, with a population of 3,000, sits beside the ruins and offers an interesting selection of hotels and restaurants.

One of the most charming restaurants is the 100-year-old Hacienda San Lucas, a family run resort half way up a high hill. If you eat there in daylight you'll be overlooking the Mayan Ruins, but it's even more attractive at night.

There's no electricity, so everything is lit by candlelight, including the kitchen where a half dozen women prepare delicious local dishes.

And you should go by tuk-tuk, a bright-coloured three-wheeled motorcycle cab. They're everywhere; they're comfortable for two – maybe three – people and cheap to hire.

You must be forewarned however. Honduras has the highest national murder rate in the world. Canadian and American governments caution visitors, but Canadian expatriates living in Honduras say if you are not a gang member or you're not involved in the illegal drug trade, you are as safe in the towns of Honduras as you would be in most large North American cities.

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